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| Chinguacousy, Cheltenham to McLaren Road, Forks of the Credit |
We started today's hike where we left off last time, parking our car on Chinguacousy. Initially we were going to park at our end destination on Highway 11 and Uber back to Chinguacousy; however, roadside parking was closed due to a bike race. As a result we continued through Forks of the Credit Provincial Park to McLaren road instead of looping back around to the #11 parking spot. From McLaren we called a cab service in Orangeville (Al's Yellow Cab) to transport us back to Chinguacousy ($22.70). We tried Uber but no driver picked up the ride. There are restrooms along the Bruce Trail in Forks of the Credit Provincial Park.
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| Roadside parking on Chinguacousy Road (northwest end) |
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| Trail Head at Chinguacousy Road |
At Chiguacousy Rd the trail continues northwest through the woods, passing through some low lying areas that look like great spots for breeding mosquitoes.
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| Looks like Thor dropped his hammer while hiking the Bruce. |
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| One of a few mosquito breading grounds we encountered. |
Many thanks to Alan who maintains a section of the trail we hiked today.
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| Alan Billings, trail volunteer |
The Bruce Trail continues along a road allowance where it intercepts McLaren Road Side Trail, a 3.6 km trail that forms a 12.6 km loop with the Bruce Trail. We will end our hike today where the McLaren Road Side Trail rejoins the Bruce at Puckering Lane. At this juncture, the Bruce takes a ninety degree turn to head south and west along The Grange Sideroad.
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| Road allowance towards the head of the McLaren Rd Side trail. |
At McLaren Road Side Trail, the Bruce turns southwest to follow Grange Sideroad.
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| Grange Sideroad |
We saw evidence of equestrian traffic along The Grange...watch your step!
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At the Intersection where The Grange Sideroad meets Credit View Rd we turned right to continue northwest. |
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| Roadside parking on Credit View Rd. |
At the end of Credit View Rd the Bruce re-enters the woods as it heads towards the Devils Pulpit...
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| End of Credit View Road |
The Bruce passes by a section of Caledon Mountain Dr before reentering the woods as the road curves.
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Caledon Mountain Road
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| The Bruce enters the woods at a curve in Caledon Mountain Dr. |
Forks of the Credit is home to the Devil's Pulpit. The steep 10 metre decent down the escarpment is facilitated by wonky ladder like steps and a cable hand rail.
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| Lookout as we descended the Devil's Pulpit (northwest view) |
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| View of wonky staircase / ladder from the top |
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| View of wonky staircase from the bottom. |
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| View of escarpment wall from base of stair case (northeast view) |
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| Rockface - Devil's Pulpit - base of staircase (westward view) |
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View of woods from base of staircase.
The Bruce continues to descend the Devils Pulpit |
The Ring Kiln Side Trail is a short dead-end side trail to view the remains of Credit Valley Stoneworks. As our hike was already long enough, we decided to skip it.
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| Staircase leading down to abandoned rail tracks. |
In the photo below, you can see an abandoned railway that would have likely been used to transport sandstone from Credit Valley Stoneworks.
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| View northwest across train tracks |
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| View southeast across abandoned train tracks. |
A boardwalk runs between two houses at the base of the Devils Pulpit as the Bruce approaches the Forks of the Credit Rd
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| Intersection of Chisholm and Forks of the Credit Rd |
Below you can see the Bruce Trail Roadside Parking on Highway 11 (Forks of the Credit Rd). This roadside parking was closed today due to a bike race.
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| Bruce Trail Parking (closed) on Highway 11 |
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| Entrance of Trimble side trail at Dominion St (view southwest) |
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| Bridge over Credit River at Dominion St. (view north) |
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| View of Forks of the Credit River (southwest) |
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| Dominion St leads through the Village of Brimstone |
Leaves on the trees in Brimstone were already starting to change on this late September afternoon.
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| Honey for Sale in Brimstone |
From Dominion Street the Bruce reenters the woods to loop through the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park.
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| Dominion St where the Bruce enters the Forks of the Credit Conservation Area |
If you are looking to shorten your hike today, you can take the Dorothy Medhurst Side Trail (northeast). This steep sloping trail cuts off the 4kms of the Bruce that loops around the Forks of the Credit Conservation Area.
We saw a lot of fishermen heading down to the river to fish for trout before the season ends. Fishing is not allowed from Oct 1st to April in order to preserve the trout populations.
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| Credit River |
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| Credit River |
The Cataract Side Trail to the Cataract Falls can also be accessed a little further up the Bruce Trail where the washrooms are located. So if you plan on viewing the falls but need a pee break...the washrooms are just around the bend and you can hop on the Cataract Side Trail there.
Below you can see the cart track that would have been the access for sandstone removal from Credit Valley Stoneworks.
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| Northeast tract of Bruce running through Forks of the Credit Conservation |
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| Washrooms at Cataract Side Trail |
We decided to take the short 1.1 km side trail to view Cataract Falls. While a detour to see a waterfall sounds worth it, we would skip it next time. The view of the falls is partially obstructed and not worth the steep one kilometre incline to the falls
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| Meadow along Cataract Side Trail (northwest) |
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Cataract Side Trail (northeast view)
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| Cataract Side Trail (southwest view) |
The sandstone that would have been extracted was used for several buildings in surrounding regions including Queen's Park in Toronto.
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Cataract Falls
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| Cataract Falls |
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Cataract Side Trail (return trip, southeast view)
As soon as we rejoined the Bruce Trail from the Cataract Side Trail, we were faced with yet another steep climb up the escarpment. So if you are looking for a great workout for your glutes, todays hike is the one for you! |
Large sections of the forest floor at the north end of the conservation area were covered with a bamboo like plant as seen in the picture below. We decided to look it up and learned that it is Rough Horsetail (Equisetum Hyemale). According to Wikipedia, it was traditionally used to stop bleeding, heal ulcers and wounds, and treat tuberculosis and kidney problems.
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| Rough Horsetail |
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| Trail through northern section of the Conservation area |
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| View (south) of vale from northern section through the Forks of the Credit Conservation Area |
The Bruce Trail eventually loops around to where the Dorothy Medhurst Side Trail shortcut intercepts the Bruce on the North side of the Conservation Area. Our plan had been to hike around the Conservation Area and then take the Dorothy Medhurst Side Trail looping back towards Highway 11. As we didn't end up leaving our car on #11 (Forks of Credit Rd) we continued out of the Conservation area onto Puckering Lane to McLaren where we called a cab.
We exited the conservation area onto Puckering Lane, a small gravel laneway that provides access for the few residents who live here.
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| Puckering Lane (northeast view) |
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| Rock Wall on Puckering Lane |
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| McLaren Road (view southeast) |
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| Flora and fungi along the Bruce Trail |
Hike #42
Date: September 17th, 2022
Start: Chinguacousy Road
Finish: McLaren and Puckering Lane
Time: 3 hours 52 minutes
Distance: 16.07 kms
Difficulty: Moderate, some difficult hilly/rocky sections
Trail Use: Hiking, some multi-purpose sections
Total kms hiked: 270 kms
Kms remaining: 641.9 kms
Points of Interest in the area: After our hike we popped into Coywolf Coffee in Inglewood for an Iced Latte and a danish. This cafe is located in the former Inglewood Hotel. In addition to the indoor seating there is a beautiful patio surrounded by mature trees. Also in the area is the Bike Shop Cafe and the Lost Bear Market.
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| Coywolf Cafe, Inglewood |
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